


Fighting a Beautiful Death

by A_rav



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Collaboration, F/F, Fights, MMA
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-02-03 12:32:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1744763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_rav/pseuds/A_rav
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Professional fighter Yang Xiao Long has never had a reason to be afraid of the shadows at night, but perhaps she should be afraid of this one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: A-rav and I unfortunately do not own RWBY. If we did Reiss and Bumblebee would be canon already.
> 
> Hi, this is LazyKatze, A-rav’s buddy. If you haven’t heard about this collaboration we've been working on together from A-rav’s A/Ns, then I hope you’re excited to read it now that you've found it, haha!  
> So pretty much this is a fanfic idea that A-rav and I both started discussing, and while we've plotted out the gist of how we want the story story to go with each other, we haven’t talked about what exactly we’re going to write each chapter. All of the odd chapters will be written by me, LazyKatzes, and the even chapters will be written by A-rav! Hopefully it doesn't get too crazy, and you guys all enjoy it! Also, reviews are greatly appreciated and we love to read them!

“Hey, Ren, gimme a cold one!” Yang called out, her head leaning against her hand. She swung her foot back and forth aimlessly, her other resting on the bar attached to her seat. Yang was hanging out in her favorite bar, which was the only bar she really went to, Storm Flower. It was owned by a close friend of her’s from high school, having been passed down to him by his father. The building was small and out of the way, but among the scattered tables and bar stools sat a large number of regulars.

“Yang, I don’t think you should be drinking with finals as close as they are," the bartender and owner, Ren, said as he walked over to stand across from Yang. His shaggy bangs caressed his face, and the hair on the back of his head was pulled into a low ponytail. A thin strip of pink snaked through his hair, an act of rebellion from his high school years that he’d grown fond of and had decided to keep.

Yang rolled her eyes, a smirk resting on her face. “Ren, how long have you known me? I’m joking of course. Weiss would kill me if I even drank of drop of anything but water or milk. And speaking of which, could I have a water, please?”

“Sure, but I’ll have to charge you,” he replied, disappearing into the kitchen to retrieve a water bottle, before seamlessly returning to the bar. “Every time you come here you don’t buy anything. Before you know it I’m going to be bankrupt.”

“Water’s free, Ren, and at best I liven the place up a bit. Isn’t that right boys?” Yang turned her head towards the group of drunken men in the far corner, raising her fist with a shout. The cheered back at her, and Yang returned to facing Ren, a smug grin on her face.  
“I’m sure that has nothing to do with the fact that you’re a well-known MMA fighter,” Ren said. He placed the water in front of Yang, not even bothering to pour it out of its bottle. She snatched it, and Ren watched her drink nearly half the bottle before he continued. “So, speaking of you being an MMA fighter, how have you been doing in the competition?”

Yang chuckled. Her MMA fights were popular on television, and usually the results to her fights were put on the local news. It was just like Ren to not watch the television and be clueless. “Just made top ten of course,” Yang said, “I had a fight yesterday, and it was a crazy one. The chick was a bear faunus, and boy, did she pack a punch. I still won though, and that’s why I’m here celebrating!”

“And Weiss let you?”

Yang chuckled, brushing a hand through her ponytail, a nest of blonde held together by an elastic which looked ready to snap from the sheer volume of hair. “Um, no. It took forever to ditch her. Seriously, Weiss needs to lighten up sometimes. She always thinks that if I were to go to a bar I’d drink, but did it ever occur to her that maybe I’m visiting a highschool friend? No, of course not. I understand she cares, being my manager and all, but come on. I’m not going to do something that stupid.”

Ren nodded and congratulated Yang for her win, smiling at her antics. It was rare that she ever lost, but he still congratulated her nonetheless. One of the best in her weight class, Yang was a professional MMA fighter. The people of Vale were deeply loyal to their sports, and having a fighter from their own city fueled their passionate support immensely. Now she was on the television more than ever as the finals of the Vale Regional Fighting Championship drew near.

The Vale Regional Fighting Championship was one of the biggest MMA tournaments around, and MMA fighters came from all over the world to attempt to make it to the top. After months of preparation, Yang had finally begun to rise in the ranks, becoming one of the ten fighters remaining after her winning match the day prior. It had been tough fight, each of the two woman not wanting to let the other get too close. In the end Yang had emerged victorious, of course, and was placed in the final ten. Not that placing in the top ten really mattered to her. To Yang it was all about the fight, the aching in her body when she won, the sweat on her brow as she pushed herself, or when she felt herself land a blow. Nothing beat the feeling of talking things out with punches and kicks.

“Did you have practice today?” Ren asked, gesturing towards Yang’s less than modest attire. She sat on the bar stool, still swinging her legs back and forth in a bright yellow sports bra and cargo shorts, which were loosely pulled over a pair of dandelion spandex shorts.

“Yeah, Weiss has been making practices shorter than usual, and scheduled practice for me from six to eight, and then again from twelve to two,” she groaned, “I did the early morning practice, but when the second session came around I was like, ‘screw it’, so I ditched it. I just won yesterday, so I deserve a break for one day.”

“I thought you liked practice?”

“Oh, I do. But, the practices after competition days are always just lifting or running. Waaaay too boring,” Yang explained.

“Ah.” Ren turned and saw another patron had entered the building and seated himself at the bar. Telling Yang he’d be right back, Ren walked over and fulfilled the man’s request. It only took a few moments, but as Ren was occupied Yang continued to look around.

The establishment had barely changed when Ren had taken over ownership. The bar still had a homey feel to it, with wooden furniture and dimly lit lighting. Despite the sun being high in the sky the bar was still dark, and Yang liked it that way. It certainly kept it cool during the intense summer heat. Across the bar, the men whose work started late into the night and ended midday situated themselves in the corner, watching the television Ren had had someone install not too long ago. The men weren’t too loud, save for their cheers and jests towards whatever it was they were watching.

Yang heard footsteps across from her, and looked back to see that Ren had returned. He hadn’t said anything yet, so Yang took the opportunity. “So how’ve you been? Been treating Nora well?” Yang asked, looking at Ren’s stoic face. He was never one to show much emotion, but his girlfriend, Nora, was the exact opposite of him. It was as if she was trying to make up for his lack of emotion by being as boisterous and excitable as possible.

“It’s been going well between us, as always.”

“That’s good to hear. You two—” A buzzing interrupted Yang. She looked down, and saw her cellphone, which rested on the bar, lit up and vibrating. With one glance at who was calling Yang grimaced. “You’ve gotta be goddamn kidding me, she already noticed!?” Despite not wanting to, Yang picked up the phone and answered it. If she didn’t Weiss would be even angrier the second call around. “Hellooo, princess!”

“Where are you?” the sharp voice snapped.

“At Storm Flower,” Yang replied honestly.

There was silence. “I’m going to kill you if I don’t have an aneurysm first.” Another pause. Then there was a deep exhale. “Is your bike there?”

“Nope, I walked.”

“I’ll be there in five,” Weiss spoke from the other end, “Don’t. Move.”

The line went dead before Yang could say anything else. She smirked, looking over towards Ren. “Welp, looks like the princess has found me out. Bummer, I was enjoying our conversation.”

“The same goes for me,” Ren replied honestly.

Yang lept off of the bar stool she was seated on. “I better go wait outside so I don’t leave her waiting. Have a good one, Ren. It was nice seeing you!” She gave a wave, heading over to the front door of the bar.

“Nice seeing you, too. Feel free to visit more often, I’m sure Nora would love to see you.”

Yang smiled, agreeing. She pushed open the door, blinking at the bright sunlight and warm temperature. Inside it was cool and air conditioned, but the outside was like a furnace. When Weiss finally arrived five minutes later just as she said Yang felt as if two hours had passed and beads of sweat were snaking their way down her neck.

Weiss pulled up to the curb, and through the slightly tinted windows Yang could see her fingers impatiently tap against the steering wheel while she walked towards the passenger seat door. The car was nothing extravagant, but it was certainly sleek and stylish enough for Weiss Schnee. The snow white color of the car perfectly matched Weiss’s hair, and the darkened windows mirrored her own hidden and icy demeanor. At least that was how it seemed during most people’s first impressions of Weiss, but after knowing her for three years and having her as her manager for two, Yang had seen sides to her no one would ever believe.

The handle hot from the sun, Yang pulled the door open and jumped inside. The air conditioned interior was almost chilly, but it was sweet relief from the heat outside. Yang let out a deep sigh of contentment as she held up her wild, curly locks of yellow hair and fanned her neck. “Phew, it’s really hot out! The heat usually doesn’t bother me, but wow!”

“Yang, you know I work really hard to set up and plan your training sessions and schedules, yes?” Weiss asked, her hands on the steering wheel but her foot not on the gas.

“Yeah, I do.”

“And you understand how disrespectful it is to ditch them, right?”

“Well, in my defense I won my match yesterday and needed a day off,” Yang reasoned.

“Yang, it isn’t time to be taking breaks!” Weiss exclaimed loudly, slamming her hands down onto the steering wheel in frustration and triggering the horn. Startled by the sudden loud noise, Weiss flinched, but quickly regained her composure. “With the finals coming up in only a few weeks you’ll need as much training as you can get if you want to win! I spend hours planning out your training schedule to a tee, but you blatantly ignore them and go off to a bar! Drinking alcohol? Really? Did you know drinking alcohol can cancel out two weeks of practice? And two weeks of practice you cannot lose, I must say.”

“Hey, hey, who said I was drinking?” Yang replied, “It just so happens that I was visiting a high school friend who owns the place, and I drank only water.”

“Oh,” Weiss began, “But that doesn’t change the fact that skipped practice to go.”

Yang sighed, knowing what she had to do. “Okay Weiss, if it makes you happier I will do a workout this afternoon to make up for the one I skipped.”

With a grin like she had won a tough battle, Weiss nodded. “Good. I’ll have it set up immediately.”

Yang rolled her eyes at Weiss’s happiness at her ‘victory’. While Weiss was most likely used to Yang’s skipping out on practice and having to reschedule it, she always made a big deal about it. Weiss always claimed it was bad for her image as a manager if she couldn’t keep Yang in line, but Yang knew that deep, deep, deep inside Weiss did it because she cared. Probably.

Placing her key into the ignition and turning it, Weiss started her car. She drove out of the parking lot without a word, only turning her head towards Yang briefly, her lopsided ponytail turning with her and swinging around almost daintily. Everything about Weiss Schnee was dainty, from her slender figure to her perfectly calculated moves. A stark contrast from her boisterous, blond haired coworker.

“Would you like me to drop you off at your apartment?”

“Huh?” Yang bumbled, “Oh, actually, I needed to pick up Ruby from school. ‘Sides, my bike is at their house. Do you mind swinging by Beacon to pick her up? She should be getting out around now.”

“I don’t see why not.”

Ruby was Yang’s little sister, seven years younger at the age of 16 and a sophomore at the local high school, Beacon High. The two were as close as sisters could be, and despite not living with each other since Yang moved to her own apartment the two girls spent a lot of time together. And, with their Uncle Qrow being busy with his work as a politician Yang was left with the duty to pick Ruby up, so afterwards the two would usually spend time together.

The school came into sight faster than Yang thought it would, and by the masses of students streaming out of the doors Yang could only assume she was right about their release time. She sent a text to Ruby, telling her she was with Weiss and where they were parked. Yang spotted Ruby soon after, bounding over with her backpack bouncing around and her short, red tinged black hair springing every which way. She pulled the back seat door open and clambered inside. She was breathing heavily, but she greeted Weiss and Yang nonetheless.

“Hello… Yang…” she panted, “And… hello Weiss.”

“Hiya Ruby!” Yang replied, trying to stifle a chuckle. “How was school today?”  
Ruby put a hand up for Yang to wait a moment. She sat there, breathing heavily for long enough time for Weiss to start her car and maneuver her way out of the jammed high school parking lot. Weiss always brought Ruby home for Yang if she had practice, so she knew where the redhead lived. When Ruby finally caught her breath she looked up and Yang and spoke, “It was pretty good, I guess. I’m pretty sure I failed my history test, though. Mr. Oobleck put stuff on it that wasn’t even in the books!” Ruby explained as she swung her arms around. “Plus having a test at the end of the year is just a waste of time. Like anyone would actually study for it.”

“Maybe he said the info out loud, or maybe he expected you to know it,” Yang reckoned.

“That’s true…” Ruby mumbled, having not considered that as a possibility. She ruffled a hand through her hair, easing out the small tangles.

“So, why’d you run to the car, Ruby? Was there some important reason for that?” With each word Yang nodded her head towards an oblivious Weiss Schnee.

“N-no!” Ruby cried, “Yang, stop it!”

“I’m not doing anything,” Yang grinned, turning around and relaxing in her seat.

There was silence for a moment, before Ruby spoke again. “So, Weiss, did you do something to your hair?”

Weiss didn’t even so much as glance in the rear view mirror. “No.”

“Oh… well, um, it still looks nice!”

Yang grinned, and while she was tempted to embarrass Ruby more, she chose to instead turn her head towards the window and hide her smile. It was cute, Ruby’s crush on Weiss. The girl’s shameless attempts at ‘flirting’ were even cuter, and Yang would tease her mercilessly about it when they were alone. Weiss clearly wasn’t interested in Ruby’s advances as well, because not only was Weiss 21, but she was married to her job. Figuratively, of course.

Lucky for Ruby, Yang saved her from the awkward silence by stimulating another conversation about school. Before long the three girls arrived at Ruby’s house, and Yang stepped out of the car alongside her. The heat was just as terrible as when Yang had left the bar, and she couldn’t wait to hop on her motorcycle and feel the wind in her hair. As she walked around Weiss’s car and towards the front door, Weiss’s window rolled down and the white haired girl stuck her head out.

“Yang, practice is going to be around five to six. I’ll text you the exact time and place when I get it all set up with the trainer, and if you skip this one…” Weiss let the silence do the threatening, and when Yang assured her that she wouldn’t be skipping and Ruby shouted her goodbyes, she drove off.

“So, Rubes, is Uncle Qrow working today?” Yang asked.

“He’s not at the office, but I’m pretty sure he has tons of paperwork to do, so he’ll be stuck in his study for a few hours at least,” Ruby answered, “Are you staying over?”

“I wish I could, but I gotta head home and start getting ready for practice. By the time I get everything packed it’ll be time to go. Tell Qrow I said hi!”

“Oh, okay. Have fun. I’ll see ya later,” Ruby said, giving Yang a quick hug. She slipped through the doorway and Yang stood alone in the heat.

Yang’s motorcycle was unfortunately parked right in the sun, and the black seating and metal heated up to burning temperatures. She pulled it into the shade, waiting for it to cool to a bearable point, and when it did about five minutes later, she hopped on. Weiss called her motorcycle ‘the two wheeled death-trap’, and Yang did agree she had a point, but that didn’t stop her from riding it wherever she needed to go. Nothing beat the wind blowing against her body as she rode. Well, aside from MMA, that is.

She put her helmet on, always practicing proper motorcycle safety. The risk of brain injury from falling while not wearing one was too high, and Yang liked the way her brain was at the moment, thank you very much. She sped off from the driveway, immediately finding her way to the main road. Her own apartment was quite a ways from Ruby’s house, and she chose it mostly due to its closeness to the MMA gym and where the finals of the MMA competition were being held.

As the city of Vale sped by around her and the buildings became closer and closer together, Yang knew she was nearing her home. Ruby lived right on the outskirts of the city, as their Uncle Qrow enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere much more than the busier center of the city, which was around where Yang lived. Despite the center of the city being much busier and commercialized, only two buildings could really be considered skyscrapers. Alongside them peppering the grounds were many office buildings, apartments, and stores, with fancy window displays and neon signs. No two stores were alike, some with brightly colored signs and logos and some with faded old bricks. The people walking on the sidewalks were just as diverse, humans and faunus alike. Most people walked around in shorts and t-shirts, but there were a few crazy people who were wearing pants, long sleeves, or even both!

Yang shuddered at the idea. She kept on driving, going with the flow of the traffic. When she stopped at a stoplight she heard a few whistles, and turned her head to see a some men waving at her. With a quick glance down, Yang remembered that she was wearing her sports bra and loose cargo shorts. She grinned, not being bothered by her own showiness, but she still ignored the men’s pathetic cat calls. When the light turned green she drove off and turned down an empty street, finally arriving home.

The apartment building was only three stories tall, and compared to the others around it, it was relatively small. Old, worn bricks built up the sides, their reddish hue long since faded to a dusty maroon. Creeping ivy gripped a green claw on the building, no one wanting to go through the trouble to remove the plants when they would only be back again with a vengeance. A cobbled path just big enough for a car made its way from the street to beside the building. When Yang pulled her bike into the driveway she drove through the narrow space between the building and her landlord’s car to park it in the shade against the building. Keys in hand, Yang pranced up to the front door and went to put her key in the lock, only to have it open before she could.

“Oh, hello Yang.” Yang’s landlord, Glynda Goodwitch, stood in the doorway. “I was just about to head out.”

“Hiya Glynda! I guess I’ll see ya later,” Yang replied, walking past Glynda and through the doorway.

Glynda was a nice woman, but only if you followed the rules she set in place for the apartment building. Already in her half a year living in the apartment Yang had seen her evict two and a half tenants. The half was Glynda scaring the man so badly that he moved out without a moment’s notice. She certainly didn’t look like a scary person, in Yang’s opinion, as like Yang, Glynda had blond curls of hair, albeit lighter and less voluminous, and usually had a good-natured smile on her face, but usually only when she was hanging around in the yard and caring for her precious garden.

Stomping up the three flights of stairs to the door to her apartment, which was the only one on the top floor, Yang practically kicked her door open. It was dark inside, the thick shade still pulled over her window from when she attempted to block out the sun that very morning. Not bothering to even pull up the shade, Yang shut her door and ran over to the air conditioner. Her room was like a sauna, and she didn’t care how much more she’d have to pay for running the AC as long as she was comfortable. After all, Yang only need to keep it on for a few minutes before it cooled to a comfortable temperature in the room.

Once the AC was on, Yang looked around the main room. It cleaner than it had been in a while, most of her workout clothes actually landing in the laundry basket this week. Usually when Yang got home from a particularly exhausting workout she’d just strip down and toss her clothes wherever they desired to land before she rushed off to shower and sleep. This week, however, she had had easier workouts, and actually managed to place the clothes in her laundry basket.

The apartment itself was rather generic. There was a small bedroom with an even smaller bathroom attached. There was no bathtub, only a standup shower. The main area where Yang currently stood wasn’t too large either, but it was comfortable. She had a loveseat along with a average-sized television across from it. There was also a small kitchen, which housed a fridge, a microwave, an oven, a sink, and a blender. Yang used the blender to make her protein shakes. Yang wasn’t a big fan of the flavor she recently purchased, and probably wasn’t going to buy it again any time soon.

Yang grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and looked at the time. It was almost five o’clock, and Weiss had sent a text sometime during her ride home saying the practice was at six. With time to kill, Yang went to her bedroom door, having not remembered closing it that morning, but pulling it open nonetheless. It was dark inside, and she reached over to flick the light switch on. When the light filled the room, Yang screamed.

“What the fuck!” was what left her mouth as she fell backwards onto her bottom. Inside her room, standing perfectly still, was a person. They were dressed in all black with only their golden eyes visible, making them stand out tremendously. The intruder’s eyes narrowed, and Yang just sat there confused. “What are you doing in my apartment?”

**The person didn’t respond and stepped forward towards Yang. It wasn’t until they began to raise their arm did Yang notice their gleaming, curved knife**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What will happen to Yang?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note- Hoped you guys are excited to see what happens now after that cliffhanger, This chapter was written by me, hopefully with Katze and I alternating writing chapters for this story will come out more frequently. LazyKatze edited this chapter and I always appreciate the great job she does. Leave a review and tell us what you think of the story or if you see any mistakes that I or Katze missed, we try our hardest but we don't always catch everything. As a note to people who read my other stories like Tale of Two Hearts, I will still be writing for them but the updates will slow down as I work on this collab with Katze. Now go and see what happens to Yang in this chapter and remember Read, Review, Favorite, Follow, and most importantly Enjoy!

The third floor apartment languished in darkness despite the bright afternoon sun outside. The thick shades covering the windows in an attempt to keep the apartment cool saw to that. The apartment was perfectly silent and still nothing and no one moved. The apartment had been like this for hours. Yang Xiao Long was the only tenant on the third floor of the apartment building owned by Ms. Goodwitch, and because of her training and fighting schedule she was away for hours at a time, sometimes leaving in the morning and not returning until late at night. On this day in the midst of the sweltering heat Yang returned home early with some time to kill before she went to the practice scheduled by her manager. Kicking open her door the blonde haired woman hurried to the AC unit she had to make the apartment bearable in the heat of the summer.

Once this was accomplished she sighed in joy as she felt the immediate effects of the AC as the temperature dropped several degrees. Even though she was only wearing a sports bra and loose cargo shorts she still had several beads of sweat running down her face. Yang turned from her AC to look at the small living room of her apartment, the room was actually tidy for once with her gym clothes actually piled into her laundry basket instead of scattered everywhere.

Taking long strides Yang entered her modest kitchen and opened the fridge, eyeing the meager contents inside before quickly grabbing a cold bottle of water. Twisting the cap off and taking a swig of the refreshing liquid Yang walked to her room with the intention of changing before her training Yang looked slightly puzzled as she looked at her closed door. " _I don't remember closing my door this morning,"_ the blonde thought, trying to recall her morning before she had left. deciding it was nothing Yang shrugged it off. " _Must have just forgot,"_ she decided as she opened the door and searched for the light switch to illuminate the pitch black room.

"What the fuck!" Yang shouted once she found the switch and turned the light on, falling to the ground in the process. Her room was a small bedroom with a closet, dresser, overhead light, and an attached bathroom. The cause of Yang's alarm was a figure standing by Yang's bed, a person dressed in a stylish black suit and pants. Judging by the fit and fine silk the suit was clearly hand tailored for this person. The only splash of color on the suit was a deep crimson silk tie. Yang could not tell the gender or age of the unknown figure because they were wearing a black mask made of silk that covered their entire head. The only visible thing on their face were their bright golden eyes. Yang never knew that eyes could be such a brilliant shade of gold, but she decided that they looked amazing.

"What are you doing in my apartment?" Yang questioned from her position on the floor. The person in her room did not respond, the only sign that the person was alive was a narrowing of those golden eyes as they scanned Yang from head to toe, lingering on the sitting blonde's face for an extra second. The intruder then took a single step towards Yang and in that moment Yang noticed something. The mysterious stranger in her home had pulled out a long, curved knife from a sheath hidden behind the suit jacket. The blade gleamed cruelly in the light, looking like it hungered for blood.

"Holy fuck, that is a big knife!" Yang yelled as she backpedalled away from the mysterious knife wielder. The black clad assailant walked briskly to Yang, the knife in their hand positioned so that the razor-sharp blade was facing her. " _That knife means business,"_ Yang thought with worry as her back hit the wall.

"What the fuck do you want!" Yang shouted, hoping to reason with the silent intruder. She didn't get a response. The mask wearing attacker swung the long knife directly at Yang's throat.

Yang dove to the side, out of the way of the blade, banging her shoulder against the television stand. Without thinking twice, Yang stood up and got into a fighting stance. Standing up, she could tell that the attacker was about the same height as her, but with a slimmer build, more lean wiry muscle than the sheer bulk that Yang had. The room that Yang was standing in wasn't ideal for fighting, considering the small cramped nature of her apartment, but she didn't have a choice.

"I don't know why you're here, but you're going to have to do better than that!" Yang taunted, hoping to anger the assailant. " _If I can make them angry they'll get sloppy, and I'll have a better chance of surviving this."_

The attacker looked slightly surprised, if the widening of their eyes was any indication, before they regained their composure and turned to face Yang, readying the knife for another attack. Unphased by Yang's insult, the attacker took a calculated swing of the knife. Yang backed up to avoid said swing. She ducked under the next swing and popped up inside the person's reach, making the long blade ineffective. Throwing a jab aimed at their throat, the stranger used their off hand to block the strike with her forearm, before hitting Yang in the side of the head with the hilt of the knife.

Yang stumbled back as her vision swam from the hit she just took. Falling to the floor, she looked up at the looming attacker. As the blade was raised, Yang made a snap decision and swung her left leg, sweeping out her opponent's legs and sending them tumbling to the ground next to her. Seizing her moment, Yang scrambled on top of her dazed enemy, straddling her waist and pinning her hands by her head. Yang looked down into her pinned enemy's eyes. They stared blankly back at her lilac ones, merely assessing the situation.

"So care to tell me your name? It's not like you're doing anything else," Yang asked smugly. Instead of replying, the person bucked their surprisingly strong hips. The movement didn't knock Yang off from her straddled position, years of MMA ground work had made her good at pins, but it unbalanced her long enough for the masked individual to free their off hand and use it to punch Yang in the ribs, knocking her off. They both quickly got to their feet, squaring off against each other. The fight had barely gone on for five minutes, but it had already cleared an area in Yang's apartment from the fighting, knocking the few pieces of furniture away from the center of the apartment.

"You know this would be a lot more fun if you talked," Yang commented as she cracked her neck from side to side, getting ready for more.

The ever silent enemy just dashed forward with a wide swing at Yang's face, coming in from the right. Yang stepped forward and using her long reach to block the knife by putting her forearm in the path of her assailant's wrist, stopping the swing in the middle of its arc. Yang took the opportunity and brought her knee up into her opponent's stomach, doubling them over as the air left their lungs. Yang was going to bring her elbow down onto their back when they shot up faster than she would have thought possible and headbutted Yang, sending her falling back. As she fell, Yang searched for something with her hand to stop her descent and felt her fingers brush against soft silk. Without thinking, she gripped as hard as she could. Her fall stopped for a moment before resuming.

When she hit the floor Yang glanced at her hand and saw she was holding the black mask the intruder had been wearing. Looking up, Yang felt her breath taken away. Her opponent was shaking her head, and that was what surprised Yang so much. Her opponent was a women with flawless white skin. Her face was framed by long silky black hair, the same color as ebony, free to fall around her face now that it was free from the confines of the mask. Atop her head were a pair of black cat ears, the fur a slightly lighter shade of black than the surrounding hair.

"You are gorgeous!" Yang exclaimed without thinking, merely saying the first thing that had come to her tongue. The woman she was fighting clearly was not expecting this reaction as her golden eyes widened in surprise. Her mouth hung, open unsure of how to respond. Yang took the moment of respite to get to her feet and brush herself off, the mask left on the floor forgotten.

"Hold up a minute, I just need to tell you that you are seriously beautiful," Yang said with a wide smile, throwing off the woman off even more. "Can we just put this entire fight behind us. I'll totally forgive you as long as I can take you out on a date!" Yang kept talking, ever the smooth talker. "My name Yang Xiao Long. You are?" Yang asked as she held her hand out, her posture relaxed slightly at the disarming beauty of the woman in her apartment.

The woman looked from Yang's sincere amethyst purple eyes down to her out stretched arm and hand before smiling.

"My name is Blake," she answered, her voice a low seductive rumble that Yang immediately loved the sound of. Blake reached out her hand that didn't hold the long knife, but just before her hand made contact with Yang's she quickly flashed the knife forward in a surprise attack. Yang noticed the movement of the knife hand a fraction of a second before it was speeding at her, and lunged to the right just in time to avoid having her throat cut, but the blade still left a long mark across her left shoulder. Searing pain filled Yang's mind as the wound turned red from blood welling to the surface. The adrenaline coursing through her body stopped it from bleeding badly as it diverted her blood to her muscles. Adrenaline spiking even more, Yang pivoted on the ball of her foot and swung a kick at Blake's ribs.

Blake didn't have time to block the kick and took the brunt of it, getting knocked back from the force. Yang pressed her advantage and kept pushing, swinging another kick at Blake while she was on the floor. Blake rolled out of the way and got up. She looked from around the room. This had not gone the way she wanted. " _I need to get out, plan out a new attack."_ Her eyes settled on the window behind her target. Yang was about to go for a jab aimed at again at Blake's throat when suddenly she saw Blake pull her arm back to throw the knife, ducking as the blade went airborne. It sliced above her head, just barely missing it, and thankfully it also missed her mane of hair that she had spent years growing out and maintaining. The knife embedded in the wall next to the window. Before Yang could react, Blake ran by and grabbed her mask from the floor where it had laid forgotten, pulled the knife out of the wall, and jumped out the window

"Are you fucking crazy jumping from this high!?" Yang called out, as she ran to the window. Looking out, she saw Blake land perfectly on her feet as she rolled to absorb the impact before looking over her shoulder back at an astonished Yang.

"Until next time Yang" she called out as she started silently running away from the apartment building.

"Wait, I need to ask you something!" Yang shouted stopping Blake in her tracks as she looked back curiously, wondering what the woman high above could want to know. "You never gave me your answer about that date!" Yang yelled out, making Blake open her mouth in bewilderment before she shook her head and kept running.

Yang turned back at her apartment as she came down from her adrenaline rush. Her apartment was trashed from the fight. Yang walked over to the love seat and slumped in it, the slash on her shoulder beginning to bleed freely as Yang picked up her cell phone. Going to her contacts she selected the first name she recognized while in her dazed state. As she listened to the ring she tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened, grabbing the first shirt she could reach Yang applied pressure to the cut on her shoulder.

"Hey Yang, what's up?" Ruby's chipper voice broke Yang from her thoughts as the younger girl answered the phone.

"Hey Ruby, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, anything for my big sis!" Ruby chirped happily.

"Can you tell Uncle Qrow to meet me at the Emergency Room?" Yang asked.

"What?! Why? I just saw you less than an hour ago! What happened? Did you get in an accident?" Ruby asked, her voice suddenly filled with worry and concern as she started rambling on, not giving her older sister an opening to answer.

"Ruby, Ruby, calm down. I didn't get in an accident. I just got attacked by an incredibly hot girl with a long ass knife who was waiting in my apartment. She hit me good and got my shoulder with the knife," Yang said going over the injuries. Checking the cut Yang could see that the bleeding had begun to slow " _This shirt is ruined though"_ she thought looking at the blood covered shirt.

"Oh my god!" Ruby yelled.

"It's alright, little sis. Can you also call your girlfriend and let her know I may be a little late to practice?" Yang unable to not tease her sister despite the situation.

"Of course I can," Ruby responded, ignoring the joke in light of the seriousness of this event, "and Yang, have you called 911 yet?"

"No… I actually haven't. More concerned with getting to the ER to make sure I can still compete. Plus I don't want this getting out to the media, especially since I'm in the middle of a competition. Weiss would kill me if the media found out, once she was sure I was alright." Yang replied slowly, realizing she should probably do that. "I'll deal with that once I know I can compete" Yang finished

"Yang you should really call them first" Ruby pleaded

"Don't worry sis, I just need to make sure I'm alright to fight, then I'll call the police, I'll talk to you when I see you at the hospital" Yang responded before hanging up the phone, heaving herself out of her chair, grabbing her keys, and leaving her apartment. As she walked down the stairs, the bleeding from her arm hadn't completely stopped but it was nowhere as bad as it had been. Yang tied the shirt around the wound as a makeshift bandage. " _She may have been trying to kill me, but that Blake girl was really hot,"_ Yang thought as she walked out of her apartment and over to her motorcycle, popping on her helmet and straddling the seat. " _I kinda want to see her again—without the fighting, of course,"_ Yang quickly amended the sentiment in her head as she revved up the bike and pulled out, heading towards Vale General Hospital.

* * *

Blake sat in the driver's seat of her sports car, a sleek model painted all black with tinted windows. The air conditioning blasted coldly, cooling down the frustrated Faunus as she sat slumped in her seat.

"Stupid!" she shouted, pounding her fist against the steering wheel, "Stupid Belladonna! How could you mess up a simple assassination!" she yelled, reprimanding herself. She replayed the entire thing over in her head. She had staked out her target's house and when she was sure she was gone had snuck in, waited for her to return, and taken her by surprise. She had been thrown off by how beautiful her target was, hard muscle had flowed smoothly into soft and feminine curves that were on display because of the blonde's revealing clothing. Blake had tried to end it quick, but the woman had fought back, surprising Blake who was a trained assassin with her hand to hand combat skills.

"What kind of person asks an assassin out on a date! AS THEY ARE TRYING TO KILL THEM!" Blake yelled in frustration and confusion, as she thought about when Yang had removed her mask. Frustrated at how much it had thrown her off and confused at how the idea of going on a date with the blonde hadn't seemed like a bad idea.

"What are you doing, Blake?" she questioned as she became painfully aware of the intricate tattoo on her back. A stylized Belladonna flower, more commonly known as Nightshade, an incredibly poisonous plant that could easily kill a full grown person. Each petal on the flower and every berry on the branches of the tattoo marked a successful kill. Since her first kill that had been tattooed as the stem and bud of the flower Blake had never missed a kill. Every contract that she was given in her mind marking a new addition to her tattoo. This had been the first missed kill she had.

Yang had been incredibly strong and exceptionally well trained in hand to hand combat, easily standing her own against Blake. " _I need to plan out a new plan of attack. Now that I know how well she can fight I can plan for that,"_ Blake decided as she turned the keys that had sat in the ignition untouched since she had turned the battery on. The rumble of the engine served to ease Blake's nerves, and she slowly pulled out of the back alley that she had left her car, smoothly pulling onto the main road and driving towards the hotel she was staying at for the duration of the contract. She had only booked the hotel for one night, not anticipating the difficulty she would have with this job, but she wasn't worried. A flash of money and a veiled threat would get her as many nights as she would need at the five star hotel. The influence of the White Fang was felt far and wide.

" _Next time, you won't be so lucky, Yang Xiao Long,"_ Blake thought as her car glided down the street not so much of a speck of rust on the car. Blake kept everything she owned maintained in perfect condition from her car to her kukri knife. The car was nearly silent except for the low rumble of the specially made engine, " _And in recognition of your achievement of surviving an encounter with me, once you die you will be the most ornate addition to my tattoo. A new flower right alongside the one that marks my first kill."_ Blake decided as she kept driving. This blonde would be a target to remember.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will Yang act in the aftermath of the failed attempt on her life? And what will Blake do to prepare for the next attempt?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: A-rav and I do not own RWBY, and if we did White Rose and Bumblebee would become canon.
> 
> A/N: Hey there people I hope you enjoy the chapter, and I’m sorry it took me so long. Summer laziness hit me like a truck, haha. I’d like to thank Elfenlied1012 a whole bunch for basically editing this chapter for me and giving me some awesome ideas! Seriously, go check out the Vale series, especially Autumn Vale! Plus A-rav totally had to make my lazy butt write, so thank him for this chapter not being delayed another month or two! Have fun and thanks for reading!
> 
> -LazyKatze

The inside of the car flickered between light and dark as it zoomed by the streetlights littering the populated city road. The metropolitan jungle was awe inspiring at night, the shadows accenting the closeness of buildings, the lit up interiors giving glimpses to entirely different lives, and the people bustling about exemplifying the city’s diverse population. The sun had long since set, but the streets around Weiss and Yang were still as, if not busier, than early on that day. When the sun had slipped over the horizon the heat had disappeared with it, releasing the folks who had secluded themselves inside in order to hide from the hot weather.

The engine of Weiss’s car hummed loudly as she drove down Main Street,Vale. Yang sat nestled in the passenger’s seat, her hand absentmindedly rubbing the eight little black bumps of stitches trailing down from her shoulder. She was lucky, or unlucky depending on how you looked at it, because while the knife had still cut rather deep the wound had been easily stitched and wouldn’t interfere much with her training. How soon she could get into the ring was her number one concern. However, Weiss was certainly going to keep Yang from doing anything that would be too strenuous for her arm for at least a week. The fighter was not looking forward to the next few practices.

The car hit a small pothole in the road, and Yang flinched when she accidentally put too much pressure on her wound. Weiss, having seen the movement from the corner of her eye, turned her head towards Yang, her brow furrowed and her signature frown on her face.

“Does it hurt?” she asked, returning her eyes to the honking madness outside.

“Nah, it feels like sunshine and lollipops,” Yang joked, earning a look from Weiss. The blonde shuffled in her seat, propping herself up so that she could see out the window better. “It stings a little bit, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Okay,” Weiss breathed out, “Do you remember what the doctor said about cleaning it?”

“For the most part.”

An audible sigh came from the driver’s seat. “He said for you to wash the wound every night, and assuming you shower I think you’ll be fine with that step. He also said to wash it after working out, and to put that ointment he gave you on it. It getting infected is the last thing you need right now. Pretty standard stuff, and I’m sure even you couldn’t mess it up.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Yang hummed. It wasn’t that she hadn’t cared for what the doctor had said, but it certainly wasn’t as important as the beautiful faunus who had caused the blonde to go to him in the first place.

Any normal person would have been terrified of an intruder who had attempted to kill them, but Yang was not a normal person. She had never been scared of the dark, had always solved her disputes with her fists in highschool, and had always been the one to charge ahead first into whatever crazy plan her and her friends had had as kids. Although, those had always been in situations where Yang had known she’d make it out okay, if not a bit battered and bruised. This situation had been life or death. One slip up and Weiss wouldn’t have been getting a call just to pick the fighter up from the emergency room. Despite this, Yang wasn’t terrified, frightened and shook up maybe, but not terrified. Rather, she was more intrigued . Not only had her assailant been drop-dead gorgeous, but she certainly had been skilled. People who could manage to break out of Yang’s iron-grip pins were few and far between.

People of that skill were never just casual attackers or burglars. Someone had clearly hired the faunus, Blake, who Yang knew for a fact was an assassin, hitman, contract killer, or whatever they were called now. Why someone had hired the amber-eyed beauty, Yang had no idea. She had thought and thought, delving deep into the recesses of her brain to find some reason why someone would hire an assassin to take her life. Aside from a few bar fights she had gotten into the month of her twenty-first birthday, nothing had stood out. There was one possible explanation, however, and it wasn’t irrational. With the championship matches of the Vale Regional Fighting Championship drawing closer and closer, pressure to train and tensions between rivaling combatants were at an all-time high. It seemed to be stressful for the other finalists, but Yang was always at ease. Perhaps her easygoing nature and lack of losses had threatened one of the others, resulting in a hitman being sent after her. The thought was still ridiculous, but it was the only possible explanation Yang had.

“So,” Weiss began, breaking Yang’s flurry of thoughts. She cast a quick glance in Yang’s direction, taking her eyes off the road for less than a second. “Are you going to explain to me why I had to go meet you at the ER and how you managed to cut your arm open?”

Yang looked around the car, her eyes scanning over the dark interior.“Well, my uncle was going to bring me home, but he left before you because he had some work stuff to go to, being a senator and all that biz. He didn’t want me riding my bike home—”

“Wait, you rode your bike to the hospital?!” Weiss exclaimed, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

“It was no big deal. By that point the bleeding had already stopped for the most part, and I had it covered.” Yang shrugged, but the movement sent a little jolt of pain through her shoulder. She cursed under her breath before continuing louder, “But, yeah, it wasn’t that far of a drive. It’s not like I was dying or anything.”

“It’s nearly a twenty minute drive with this traffic, you dolt,” Weiss scolded, “I really don’t know how I’ve put up with you these past few years.”

A smile stretched across Yang’s face. “Don’t say that, Weiss. You know you love me! If you didn’t you wouldn’t be giving me a ride home!”

“It’s my job as your manager to make sure you’re alright,” Weiss clarified, “And it is also my job to know what is going on with you, so can you tell me exactly how you cut your arm open?”

“I thought managers managed schedules and stuff?”

“Yang, just answer the question!”

“Okay, fine,” Yang groaned. Knowing that Weiss would hound her for the answer until she would tell, Yang began to explain what had happened. She told Weiss about how she had returned home and had been attacked, but put her training in Mixed Martial Arts to use and fought the attacker off. At the end she tacked on her own thoughts about the situation, explaining to Weiss it all in detail. The white haired girl was silent for almost the entire time, but her expressions did the talking. Her face switched from disbelief, to anger, and even concern for a split second.

“But it’s all cool, because she was totally super hot, and I asked her on a date,” Yang finished, leaning back in her chair and stretching her long legs as much as she could in the small space.

“Yang, are you kidding me!?” Weiss exclaimed exasperatedly, her foot stomping on the breaks. Yang jerked forward, her seat belt preventing her from going too far, but tightening against her wound and causing her to let out an involuntary cry of pain. Cars honked behind them at their sudden stop, and Weiss quickly continued on down the road. “Her being ‘totally super hot’ doesn’t change the fact that she tried to kill you!” Taking a deep breath, Weiss attempted to calm herself down. “Did you call the police?”

“No, of course not. I didn’t want to cause a huge uproar in the news about this.”

“Okay, good,” Weiss remarked, “Once we get to my house I’ll call some of my father’s men about this. You’re not staying in your own house after something like that, so we’ll stop there and you can grab some clothes and essentials for a few nights.”

“Your father’s men?” Yang asked.

“Professionals and the like. They’ll keep you safe and search for whoever attacked you,” Weiss explained.

“Oh, thank you,” the blonde responded, “You’re really taking this whole hitman thing in a stride.”

“With a father who owns one of the most successful companies in the world, you learn to get used to it,” Weiss replied matter-of-factly.

Yang nodded slowly, and the two fell to a silence. It was easy for Yang to forget Weiss’s status as daughter of the founder of Schnee Corporations. For someone who would one day inherit such a large corporation, Weiss was pretty down to Earth, albeit deadly serious about her work.

Not much longer after the two girls’ conversation had finished they pulled up to Yang’s apartment building. The two of them rushed inside and grabbed what she needed for a few nights over Weiss’s house in record time. Hopping back into the passenger seat with a duffle bag of clothes in her arms, Yang went through her mental checklist. When everything she needed was accounted for, she gave the okay to Weiss, who pulled out of the driveway and towards her own home.

“This’ll be so much fun! It’ll be just like a slumber party,” Yang joked, “We can have pillow fights, prank call people, and talk about boys!”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “I’d rather talk about that girl.”

“Oh ho ho, I didn’t know you swung that way, Princess!”

“You know what I meant,” the manager groaned, “And don’t call me Princess. I swear, this is the thousandth time I’ve told you.”

“Fine, fine.”

“Now, can you tell me what this woman looked like? I’ll need a description to give to my father’s men, and seeing as you’ve told me she was ‘super hot’ I can imagine you saw her face,” Weiss addressed.

“Well, it all happened so fast. I never really got a good look at her,” Yang lied, “but was pretty.”

“How do you know she was pretty if you didn’t get a good look at her?”

“How do you know the sky is blue?”

“You look at it, idiot.”

“No, you just know!” Yang explained, “Well, you learn from somewhere, but my point still stands. She was hot, Weiss, and I would never be able to explain why exactly, but she was.”

“You’re crazy,” the manager sighed, “I’m going to have fun explaining to them that the woman who attacked you was apparently attractive, but that you don’t remember any distinguishing details.”

Yang chuckled, leaning forward to turn on the radio and effectively silencing Weiss’s questioning.

She felt bad lying to Weiss, but it was something she had to do. If the men found Blake Yang would lose her only chance of finding out who had hired her and what their motives were. An assassin would never reveal any information about their client to police officers or whatever , and whoever had gone out of their way to hire one certainly wouldn’t have any misgivings about hiring another. In the end, Yang’s best bet was to find Blake herself and get the answer from her directly. The blonde told herself she was doing this to figure out who had hired the cat faunus, but without even thinking it, she knew she was doing it because she wanted to see the raven haired woman again. It was time to go catch a stray.

* * *

 

Shoving her hands into her pockets, Yang relaxed in her booth by the window. Weiss had told her to spend the day inside to be safe, but the moment her manager had gone out to run some errands Yang had been up and about. She couldn’t just leave her baby alone, and it was her main mode of transportation. Without it Yang was stuck either walking everywhere or mooching rides off of Weiss. The keys to her bike jingled in her pocket as she shifted positions, her roomy shorts giving them the extra room to bounce around. Blonde hair billowed over Yang’s shoulders, having been released from the hair elastic confining it the night before. Beneath the golden mane a loose red flannel was hanging over a plain white tank top. The flannel had been a birthday gift from Ruby, and while red was more of Ruby’s favorite color than Yang’s, but the fighter made a point to wear it every once in a while. With yesterday’s heat all but vanishing and having grabbed the shirt to take to Weiss’s house, Yang knew it would be the perfect time to do so.

The night over Weiss’s house had been fairly normal to Yang’s surprise. Despite being heiress to a multi-million dollar company she lived in a simple apartment in the city and didn’t have anything extravagant, her home being more barren than anything else. In response to her client’s exclamation of surprise Weiss had explained about how she wanted to be able to support herself and not have to live out of her father’s pocket. It was an admirable decision, and Yang respected Weiss for such. Not long after Weiss had called the professionals, and Yang spent the next few hours explaining what had happened and explaining to numerous people that while she knew the woman had been pretty, she didn’t remember exactly what she had looked like.

All in all it had been a tiring night. When the men had left Yang plopped down onto Weiss’s guest bed, asleep before she even hit the pillow. Now here she was, sitting in a cozy little seat-yourself café named so and so on Main Street and Beacon Ave. There were only a few other patrons inside, each one sipping from assorted mugs with the café’s name engraved in the side and sitting either in one of the numerous red cushioned booths lining the walls or one of the small round tables placed on the floor. Yang herself had yet to order anything. Instead, she had sat down and relaxed for a moment, thinking about what she wanted and if she could take a little risk in getting something sweet.

The fighter leaned on her hand and faced the window. It was another busy day in Vale like always. An endless stream of people walked down the roads, and just when Yang thought there were no more people another dozen rushe on by. The parking spots were like a battle ground, cars cutting each other off and barely scraping by to win the perfect space. Yang grinned as she watched a young woman attempt to drive out from the spot she was parked not once, but twice, narrowly avoiding bumping into the two cars she had parallel parked between. Right when she was about to attempt her third try, Yang heard someone speak out from behind her.

Turning around she saw a young man, tall and scrawny. His blonde hair was ruffled, hanging just past his ears. A red apron that matched the booths was hanging off his neck and tightly tied around his waist. The poor waiter seemed extremely nervous, his hands shaking and face almost as equally as red as both the booth and his apron. Yang sat up straighter, tilting her head towards him and raising her eyebrows as if to urge him on.

“E-excuse me,” he mumbled quietly. He scratched his head, his mouth open but no words coming out. Then he started again, louder, “Excuse me, a-are you the MMA fighter Y-Yang Xiao Long!?”

Yang chuckled inwardly at his nervousness. It was no big surprise that someone recognized her, seeing as a lot of people in Vale were rooting for her to win. It was hard to miss the blonde, her trademark hair standing out like a sore thumb in public. She’d been in plenty of interviews where the inquirer would ask her why she had kept her hair so long, seeing as it might interfere with training, and the fighter would respond with her usual, ‘it comes with the last name’ reasoning.

“No, sorry. I actually look just like her,” she replied with an over exaggerated sigh, trying not to burst out laughing at the waiter’s shocked expression, “It’s kind of crazy. The fact that my name is Yin Short doesn’t make it any better either.”

“No way,” the waiter replied. He looked disappointed, but was instantaneously calmer now that he thought he wasn’t speaking to a popular Mixed Martial Arts fighter. “That’s some sort of crazy coincidence. Well, I’m sorry to bother you. While I’m here would you like to order anything?”

“Uhh, yeah, I’ll have a coffee with sugar and cream, please,” Yang requested. As he wrote down her order and walked back to the kitchen Yang smirked, barely able to comprehend the fact that he had actually believed her.

In less than ten minutes the waiter had returned, coffee in hand. He placed in in front of Yang with a clank. “Here you go Miss Short!”

“Thank you,” Yang replied, “You do know I was joking about the whole Yin Short thing, right?”

The young man paused, his eyes widening. One thin arm hung in the air and his jaw hung ajar. “What?” he practically whispered.

“I’m Yang Xiao Long.”

“O-oh my god!” the waiter exclaimed loudly. He blushed furiously and his eyes lit up. “Oh gosh, uh, can I have your autograph!?”

Yang laughed. “Of course! Do you have a pen and paper?”

“Y-yeah, right here,” he replied, pulling a paper off of his order pad and a pen out of his pocket before handing the two items to her.

“What’s your name?”

“J-Jaune!”

Noting that her order of a coffee with cream and sugar was right beside where she was signing, Yang wrote a little inspirational message to the nervous waiter and signed her name with a flourish. She handed the autographed paper to the waiter, who was shaking with excitement. He grasped the paper looking like he couldn’t believe it to be true. Before Yang could initiate some small talk as she tended to do whenever she bumped into a fan of hers, the waiter, Jaune, gave a quick word of thanks and rushed back towards the kitchen. His sudden departure was fine by Yang, as now she could drink her coffee in peace.

She took a tentative sip, but when she found it to be too hot she placed it back onto the table. Looking back out the window Yang noticed that the woman who had been attempting to leave earlier had made it out, and with no damage to the other cars at that. The spot now remained empty, but Yang noticed a car slowing to a stop and clearly going to park there. The car was a fancy sports car, sleek and black, something Yang would love to find herself driving. The windows were tinted, and Yang couldn’t see the driver, but she assumed they were some sort of rich looking gent or lady.

The driver of the car found a break in traffic, just enough time to make the most perfect parallel park Yang had ever seen. They managed to do it in just a few seconds. Yang found herself marveling at the sight. With skills like that the driver definitely deserved that amazing sports car. Yang watched the car for a few more moments, taking a sip of her now cooled coffee as she waited for the driver to step out from the car. But they never did. With the tinted windows blocking Yang’s only chance at seeing them, she nearly gave up watching the car. Nearly, as not even a few seconds before she took her eyes off the car and onto something far more interesting did she see a young man walking towards the vehicle from the alleyway between the café and the building beside it.

He had to be at the latest in his mid-twenties. Dark brown hair with red highlights was spiked up on his head, two long horns sprouted from deep within his hair, and his face clean shaven. Red and white sunglasses hid his eyes from view, but his brow was furrowed. He was clearly well built, muscles rippling underneath his black collared shirt. Yang had to admit he was a very attractive man, but while her attention lingered on his muscles for a long moment, her eyes eventually trailed down to the package in his hand. It was the simple commonly used orange packaging, but the way it bulged made Yang realize it was much more than that.

The man arrived at the sports car, and he rapped on the driver’s door window three times exactly. It began to roll down, slowly, tantalizingly slowly. Yang sat up straighter in her seat, trying to get an early glimpse. Then the window hit the point of visibility, and Yang saw the driver of this amazing car. Eyes hidden by all black sunglass, standing out on the pale skin, but fading away into the dark as night hair. Supple pink lips that stood out against the pallor of her skin were pursed as she snatched the package the man held out. An eyebrow raised and a few curt words were said before the man turned around to walk away and the window raised back up to conceal the car’s inhabitant. In spite of the driver’s efforts to roll the window up quickly it was too late for her to hide, as Yang had already seen her face. The raven haired woman, Blake, had made the mistake of thinking she was safe to reveal herself for even a second. The fighter had found her stray cat without even having to lift a finger. The hunt was on.

Outside the car started, and Yang leapt to her feet. She wasn’t going to let Blake get away. Pulling her only money out of her pocket, a twenty dollar bill, Yang slammed it on the table, knowing that it would take too long to get the change. Jaune could have a little tip. The bell hanging on the door jingled as Yang rushed out of the café. A few quick steps and she was at Blake’s car, by the passenger door. She tried the handle, pulling the door open with ease. Pushing the package that was on the passenger seat to the floor, the same one the man had handed Blake earlier, Yang plopped down in the passenger’s seat.

Her attacker, the dazzling cat faunus Blake, sat beside her. Her jaw was dropped, sunglasses sliding down her nose and revealing wide and startled amber eyes. She blinked a few times, not believing who had just sat themselves down inside her own car. Her hand slowly reached up, grabbing her sunglasses and placing them on the dashboard. A phone which Yang had not noticed earlier was brought down from her ear slowly, before Blake cleared her throat.

“I’ve got to go.” The hitman didn’t wait for a response, pressing a button and ending the call. She looked at Yang, her shocked expression slowly slipping off her face.

Yang smiled. “Hello, Blake,” she greeted.

Turning towards the windshield, Yang gave a quick wave to a few passersby, who all happily waved back. Making sure Blake had seen, Yang place a hand on top of the car lock and turned towards her again

“Let’s talk.”

**  
  
**


	4. Chapter 4

A phone call broke the silence inside of Blake’s car, the lights in the parking garage illuminating the interior of the vehicle as the Faunus sighed and grabbed the phone. She checked the caller ID, a flash of anger as she saw exactly who was calling.  
“What do you want, Adam?” she tersely greeted the man on the other end.  
“Did you kill the target?” he asked calmly, ignoring Blake’s obvious annoyance. An aggravated sigh passed her lips, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose as she wrestled her emotions into check.  
“How do you think it went? You neglected to tell me the target was none other than Yang Xiao Long, the professional fighter who is currently one of the highest ranked MMA fighters in the world,” she growled, his lack of reaction only serving to make her even angrier.   
“You’re also a professional, Blake, so did you or did you not kill the target?” he repeated in a neutral voice that Blake knew he had spent years perfecting until it was impossible to read his emotions in his words.  
“No... I didn’t,” she growled back, annoyed at him for drawing this out longer than it needed to be.  
“That’s a shame. Is this the first contract you haven’t finished on the first try?” he questioned, a hint of smugness edging itself into his tone.  
“Yes, and you damn well know it, Adam,” she shot back. Should have figured that was the reason. Blake was one of the best assassins in their group and Adam was annoyed at how well she carried out her jobs, to the point that most clients asked for her by name.   
“That’s a shame. Meet me at the warehouse building across from the Big City Diner. I have files to drop off for you, along with something else,” he said, and before Blake could respond the line went dead. She carefully put the phone down before setting her hands on the wheel. To the untrained eye she looked calm and composed, but her knuckles were turning white from the force of her grip on the steering wheel, the Faunus ears pressed back against her skull in irritation.   
“That bastard,” she muttered to herself before turning the ignition on her car and hearing the engine roll over. 

Pulling out of her spot, Blake quickly exited the parking garage the hotel provided for guests and drove out onto the busy streets of Vale. The sun was high in the sky as she drove to the appointed meeting spot, the light dimmed significantly from her tinted windows. She had memorized several spots throughout the city marked as potential meeting spots by Adam and she didn’t want to leave evidence by using a GPS. That was a rookie mistake she would never make. She knew Adam had picked this spot to frustrate her. It was across town from her hotel and the traffic at this time of day was nearly gridlocked. Blake found herself idling behind other cars more than she was driving, her frustration rising with each passing moment. This damned well better be good, she thought as she finally was able to get out of the horrendous midday traffic and cruise to the designated location. Whipping her dark sports car into a spot she pulled out her phone and picked Adam out of her sparse contacts list.  
Here, was the terse message Blake sent, placing her phone back on the dashboard of the car, screen up to be better visible in the darkened interior of her car should it go off.

Five minutes later a door that lead into the alley creaked open and Adam walked out wearing his usual black collared shirt, horns very prominently jutting out of his spiked brown hair with dark red highlights, and the orange envelope he had mentioned during the call in hand. Blake couldn’t see his eyes through his red and white sunglasses, but she could tell by his furrowed brow that he was not in a good mood. Putting her expression into a neutral position so he couldn’t see anything past her own sunglasses she rolled down her window as he tapped at it.  
“Always good to see you, Adam,” she greeted, masking the bitterness in her tone as best she could. At one point long ago she had really meant the words but lately Adam had started to drift and become more hostile.   
“As to you, Blake. Here, files on the target as well as some added help with the job.”  
“I should have had these files from the start,” she muttered loud enough for her partner to hear.  
“Well you have them now, and the client expects you to do the job right this time. He isn’t a man that you want to disappoint,” the man warned ominously. Blake didn’t know most of her clients, Adam handled that, giving her the job details so in case she was to be apprehended she couldn’t divulge any sensitive information.   
“I plan to,” she shot back as she took the files from his hands and tossed them on the passenger seat, rolling her window up as the Faunus man walked away. 

Without a second to take a break and examine the files she had only now been given, her phone rang. Sighing heavily, Blake picked the device back up off of the car dashboard, not even bothering to check the caller ID in her frustration. Who could it be now? she groaned internally as she answered the call and pressed the phone against her ear.   
“Hello?” Blake answered neutrally.   
“Yo, Blake. How’s it going?” a friendly male voice replied, the sounds of a crowd in the background making him talk louder.  
“Hello Sun, just frustrated with work,” Blake answered, softening her tone slightly when she heard the monkey Faunus. Sun was one of Blake’s few friends, someone she had met during one of her jobs and she had taken a liking to the monkey Faunus’ cheery attitude. It was a refreshing change from Adam and her own mood. Of course she had avoided telling Sun what she did, just saying it required her to be informed and Sun was a good source of information. His ear was to the pulse of the news in the sports world.   
“Sorry to hear that. If it helps any I got the information on Yang Xiao Long you asked for. May I ask why the sudden curiosity in the soon-to-be champion of Vale?”   
“I’ve taken an interest in MMA fighting and what with the tournament going on I thought it would be a good time to learn more about the fighters,” Blake responded calmly, not completely lying. She did in fact have a new interest in MMA after fighting in the the blonde’s apartment.  
“Makes sense, but why Xiao Long in particular? Got a thing for tall blonde’s do ya?” Sun teased. Blake ignored the comment and was about to respond when the passenger door opened suddenly.

Blake was about to yell at the stranger at the door when she saw who it was, the blonde woman pushing the package Adam had deposited to the floor as she took a seat next to Blake. “I’ve got to go.” The hitman didn’t wait for a response from Sun, pressing a button and ending the call. She looked at Yang, her shocked expression slowly slipping off her face.  
Yang smiled. “Hello, Blake,” she greeted.   
Turning towards the windshield, Yang gave a quick wave to a few passersby, who all happily waved back. Making sure Blake had seen, Yang placed a hand on top of the car lock and turned towards her again.  
“Let’s talk,” the blonde said with a smile on her face. Blake had trouble figuring out what was going on right now. Her target had gotten into the sports car of her own free will, something that Blake had never seen during her time in this line of work. Composing her expression Blake placed her phone on the dashboard, putting it on silent as she did so in a manner that was obvious to the other woman in the car.   
“Alright so let me start off, what are you doing here?”   
“Well, I was in the cafe across the street and I saw your friend hand you this,” Yang said, gesturing towards the orange envelope that was on the car floor, “And I thought I would come over and give you visit, seeing as you were so kind to visit me yesterday.” Yang teased, rubbing the shoulder that Blake had slashed. At the same time Blake rubbed one of the several bruises on her body from the fight with the MMA fighter.   
“Alright, fair enough,” Blake muttered, annoyed that she couldn’t do anything about her target being right next to her. They were in the public and even through the tinted windows people could clearly see that there were two people in the car.  
“Now let me ask you a question, Ms. Super Hot Assassin Lady. Why did you try to kill me?” Yang cut right to the chase, her purple eyes watching the Faunus next to her with an intensity usually reserved for people opposite the blonde in the octagon. Blake was even more taken back by Yang’s name for her, unsure how to react now that she was more aware of how attractive her target was. Get a hold of yourself, Belladonna. You’re a professional.   
“I don’t know. I was just hired to kill you,” Blake answered simply, telling the truth and knowing it couldn’t indict her organization or her partner. No matter how much Adam infuriated and upset her, she would still protect him in memory for the man he used to be. The brawler nodded her head a few times, amethyst eyes never leaving Blake’s golden ones before a big smile formed on her face.  
“Alright,” she said cheerfully, confusing the assassin in the car even more.   
This girl is either the most cheerful person on the earth or insane. “So what now?”   
“Well I asked you about a date yesterday and I never got a response,” Yang quickly answered. Blake just sighed at this point, not surprised at the response she was given.  
“Why would you want to go on a date with me? I’m trying to kill you, and for that matter why would I want to go on a date with you?”   
“Well to answer in order, I think you are really beautiful, and I think there is more to you than just being a hitman. And you would want to go on a date with me cause you owe me one,” Yang replied matter-of-factly, and at this point Blake had to wonder what else would surprise her about this girl.   
“And exactly what do I owe you for exactly?” Blake sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she looked over her shades at the woman across from her. Yang’s megawatt smile seemed to only grow brighter at Blake’s question, her lilac eyes meeting Blake’s amber ones.  
“Well, as you must have guessed I had a talk with some people who would have liked to know what you looked like so they could find you. Trying to kill a famous fighter tends to draw some negative attention,” Yang pointed out, her eyes never leaving Blake’s as she spoke and Blake having an idea of where this was going. “Well, I got a good look at your face, but I was intentionally obscure about what you looked like.”  
“And why would you be so kind to me?” Blake asked sarcastically, one eyebrow arching in curiosity as her Faunus ears stood at attention  
“Well I was hoping for a chance like this to talk to you without, you know, you trying to kill me. So what do you say about that date?” the blonde brawler asked, that damned smile never falling from her face even as she met Blake’s much more measured expression.  
“I don’t think I have a choice do I? So where would you like to go on this date?”   
“I was thinking this Italian restaurant on 39th and Pine, tomorrow night at seven?” As Yang spoke she grabbed a pen off of Blake’s dashboard and wrote the address on the envelope that Adam had handed the assassin less than ten minutes ago.  
“Alright, tomorrow night,” Blake replied neutrally.  
“Then I’ll see you then, hot stuff,” Yang teased with a wink, opening the passenger door and getting out of the car. Blake couldn’t figure out what the deal was with her current target, she was unlike anyone she had ever been hired to take care of before. That farewell had been interesting and Blake couldn’t exactly say what she had felt at being called hot stuff by an equally attractive woman.   
“Damn this girl,” Blake muttered as she turned her engine over and started driving back to her hotel.

 

As Yang got out of the car she pulled out her cell phone. She knew that she should call Weiss lest the little princess worry about where she was. Turning her phone on she opened up the keypad and held down three, Weiss’ speed dial and soon her phone was ringing as it tried to connect to the other girl’s. Yang could tell when Weiss answered as white noise filled the background, though before Yang could say hi the other girl immediately started scolding her.  
“Yang Xiao Long, where have you been?!”   
“Easy princess, I just went out to get some food. I was hungry and didn’t want to stay cooped up in your place,” Yang explained calmly, touched that her manager was worried for her safety even if the white haired girl was sometimes a little overbearing. A sigh came from the other end and Yang knew that Weiss was trying to keep calm and avoid yelling more.  
“You’re lucky I had a feeling you would do that or else I would have sent people to find you the second I found out you weren’t here. Where are you now?”   
“I’m at a café place on Main Street and Beacon Ave,” Yang said nonchalantly like she hadn’t disobeyed her manager and left the house.  
“Stay there and I’ll be by in five minutes to pick you up for practice. We can still workout, though we have to be careful about your arm.”  
“Yes mom,” Yang teased, her manager huffing exasperatedly at the jab at her behaviour.   
“Just for that you’re doing extra work today,” Weiss shot back once she had regained her composure. She wasn’t above punishing Yang on occasion.  
“Alright, I’ll be waiting,” Yang said with a smile as she hung up the phone and switched it over to the news app she used on occasion to keep up with what was going on in the world. She immediately scrolled to the local and sports sections, wanting to be sure that no word of her injury had somehow been leaked to the media. After browsing for a few minutes she was satisfied that it was still a secret and turned her phone off. Looking around she found a bench outside a diner she could sit down at while she waited for Weiss. 

Taking a seat she thought about what had just happened in the last forty minutes of her life. She had just asked an extremely attractive woman who had tried to kill her the previous day to go on a date to an Italian restaurant tomorrow night. Before she could really think about the decisions she had made she heard the familiar hum of Weiss’ car drawing closer. Within a few minutes the other girl pulled up and stopped in front of Yang. Happily hopping out of her seat the blonde girl took a few long strides before she was at the car. Opening the passenger side door, she plopped down on the seat. With a slam of the door she turned to look at her less than amused manager.  
“Ready for practice, Xiao Long?” Weiss asked as she started driving to the gym.  
“Oooh, you are mad at me! You only call me by my last name when you’re annoyed,” Yang joked with a grin as the shorter girl continued to drive.   
“Yang take this seriously please, you were attacked yesterday and I’m just worried for you,” Weiss said with worry. The blonde girl could hear the genuineness in Weiss’ voice and she softened up.  
“Alright Weiss, I will. Is it fine if I go on a date tomorrow night?” Yang asked after a moment of silence.  
“...Yes, just be safe,” Weiss agreed after thinking it over. Yang was a grown woman and Weiss knew she couldn’t control her, so she was just happy the other girl was being considerate.  
“I will be, Weiss,” Yang replied with a knowing smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Long time no see!
> 
> I'm really living up to my username right now, more so extremely LazyKatze than just LazyKatze. School, sports, and this whole national novel writing month (NaNoWriMo) wound up with me not doing anything fanfiction-wise. This chapter will be the beginning of me trying to write more often, so yay (hopefully :P)! I'd like to thank Elfenlied1012 for being a great friend, my best friend really, and helping me through the writing process as well as looking this chapter over! Hope you enjoy the chapter :)
> 
> -LK

The restaurant was nothing too fancy, certainly not a suit and tie kind of place. Still, Yang was dressed up nicer than a sports bra and khakis, choosing instead to wear a simple dandelion sundress that accented her best features. The thin spaghetti straps not only gave her toned muscles a time to shine in a more civilized manner, but also kept her cool in the sweltering heat. Mascara and hints of makeup donned her face, not Yang's forte, but she knew how to apply it to look hot. A thin gold chain hung around her neck, this little pendent of a flaming heart. The blonde glanced down to her phone, checking the time once again and chuckling at the dorky face of her little sister set as the background. The numbers over the teen's head read nearly half past seven. Blake was late.

"Of course she wouldn't show up," Yang whispered to herself amused. This stupid plan of hers was destined for failure, but that didn't stop her from hoping.

She glanced around, checking out the establishment. Seated in the center of the floor, the tables around were all empty save for one. Business was slow for the Italian restaurant that night, the only other voices belonging to a pair of brunette girls giggling about something shared between themselves. Lights dimly illuminated the room, and a candle flickered in front of the fighter. Green plants sat nestled on window sills and in corners, bringing some life to the atmosphere. Having gone on plenty of dates here before, some of the relationships lasting longer than just a single meetup, this was definitely Yang's top choice, especially with the excellent food, service, and being easy on her wallet.

The waiter up front's voice echoed through the room, rehearsing a practiced and overused greeting. To Yang's excitement, Blake's muscular frame was the one pushing past the man, heading directly towards the table for two. Wearing a black suit and tie, something that was almost unexpectedly expected, her hair was let loose, long black locks spilling over her shoulders. Her attire was similar to that of the day of the attempted assassination, aside from the lack of gloves, mask, and huge-ass knife. That, and an added bow atop her head, covering those adorable cat ears.

"About time! I thought you'd never show," Yang commented with her smirk on fire as Blake sat down.

The faunus snorted, clearly not amused, but still uttered, "Hello."

The fighter tilted her head, resting it lightly on fingertips. Eyes trailed up and down the date before she spoke again. "You're looking wonderful tonight as always."

"Thank you." The curt reply didn't sound too thankful.

Releasing a tiny, almost invisible sigh, Yang paused her attempts to start a conversation as the waiter made his way over to their table. The man introduced himself, fake and over enthusiastic, before asking the two what they would like for drinks.

"Strawberry sunrise, please. No ice," the blonde asked, quickly adding in, "Oh! And with one of those little umbrellas, too!"

He marked the request down on his notepad before turning towards Blake. "And you?"

"Just water, please."  
With a nod and the promise to return with drinks soon, Blake and Yang were once again alone. The candle flickered between them, Yang's smirk and Blake's stone cold stare polar opposites.

"Sooo…" Yang drawled, "What do you do for work?"

She blinked. "I'm paid to dispose of unwanted objects," Blake responded dryly.

"Ouch, I'm unwanted? And also an object? The object of your affections, you must mean."

The raven haired woman ignored the jest, instead directing the question back, "What do you do?"

"Oh, I'm an MMA fighter," she explained, giving a quick flex of her muscles, "Professionally, of course. I'm actually in the top ten of the tournament hosted here in Vale!"

"Really?" Blake raised a brow, the snippet of information seeming to catch her eye.

"Yeah, it's a blast," the blonde continued, "It's definitely my favorite thing to do. Well, like as a hobby and profession. Hanging out with my little sister is definitely up there. Now if I could only get her into MMA then it'd be literally the best thing in the world!"

"You have a little sister?"  
"Yep! Her name's Ruby. Sweetest little thing to ever exist."

"How old is she?"  
"Sophomore in highschool, so like sixteen. Her birthday's on November 5th, so she just barely missed the cutoff."

"I see. Must be nice."

"Do you have any siblings?"  
"No, but a few kids I grew up with I considered siblings."

"Oh, that's cool!"

"I guess."

The waiter chose that time to return, drinks balancing on a round black tray. The lack of customers made service speedy, however the blonde grimaced at it; she had finally been getting somewhere with Blake. "Here you go ma'am," he smiled, placing this explosion of color they called a drink down, the vibrancy amplified by blandness of a glass of ice water.

"Thank youuuu!" Yang sang, sipping from her brightly hued drink. A squeal of delight came from her lips, and while grinning wildly at the waiter she asked, "Every time I come here I always get this drink, but I've never asked what's in it. Could you tell me, or is it a chef's secret?"

The man, seemingly asked this one thousand times, tapped his chin with each item as he spoke the long, long list of ingredients. It definitely didn't have any alcohol, too much of everything to even let a smidge of it get in. The bright orange and pink drink was home to dozens of fruits and sugars. Yang could cheat on her healthy regime just for today. It was a date, she's supposed to treat herself! Eyes trained on the waiter and glass on the table, when there was a flash of black out of the corner of her eye, Yang didn't flinch. Wrapping up the conversation with the waiter and ordering their food, she turned back to look Blake.

The faunus's expression was the same as before, a cool stare watching the lilac eyes. The gaze never flickered towards the glass, and Yang realized how truly professional this woman was. If she herself has ever slipped poison into someone's drink she wouldn't be able to keep her eyes off of it. Swirling the liquid around a bit, she lifted it off the table and into the air towards her date.

"You  _have_ to try this Blake," Yang cooed, "It's so good!"

She pushed the glass away. "I'm fine, thank you."  
"Oh c'mon. It's non-alcoholic if that's what you're worried about." There was another gesture with the glass.

"No, really, I'm fine," she spoke.

"Alrighttt," Yang whined playfully, not bringing the glass to her lips and instead placing it down in front of her. There was the faintest flicker of confusion in Blake's eyes, but Yang ignored it. She wanted a nice date and she damn well was going to get one. The assassin could try to kill her as many times as she wanted, it didn't matter. "So, do you live in the area or did you travel for business?" The blonde said the last word with a little grin.

Blake didn't find it as humorous. "Business, mostly."

"Oh cool, how long do you stay usually?" Yang asked.

"Until my job is done," she replied coolly.

"So do you think you'll be here long enough to go on another date?"

The hitman raised a brow. "It's not even twenty minutes into the first date and you're already planning for a second one?"

"Of course!" Yang laughed, leaning into her palms and blinking up at Blake. The posture's revealing nature was intentional, and two beacons shone up and caught the raven haired beauty's eyes like two spotlights on the clouds. The flick of amber eyes downward at the monstrosities and the clear attempt to refrain from ogling them was evident.

"S-so," Blake's stutter and adjustment of her tie was adorable and seeing the stoic woman falter even so slightly was even more so. "Where'd you boob the necklace?" she asked, "Wait, shit, no, I meant  _buy!_ "

With a simple Freudian slip, Blake's attempt to be a badass hitman began to unravel. Yang's face went red with laughter, hiccuping little bursts that shook her entire being while the hitman's cheeks turned the same shade, however not from hilarity and instead from embarrassment. The blondes eyes began to water, the stifling of her laughter for the sake of the two other patrons failing and coming out as this muted cough.

"It's not that funny," Blake breathed, "Stop it."

"'Not that funny'? It's fucking hilarious!" The outburst of giggles began to quiet, but Yang saw amidst her fit the faintest fidget and smile from the once aloof woman.

She clicked her tongue. "Laughing at the expense of others is never funny."

It almost seemed like she was serious until the edge of her lips pulled themselves into this teasing half smile. "I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing  _with_ you!"

"That's so cliché."

"I'm aware," Yang grinned. "So, what kind of laughing is allowed?"

Blake paused for a moment, almost like she was sinking deep into her mind to find out the true answer to this silly little question. "Hmm, if I had to say it would be the laughter from silly jokes or stories."

"Silly jokes?" the buxom woman asked, "I can make some good puns!"

"No," Blake stopped her, "No, those don't even count as jokes."

Yang put a hand over her heart in mocked pain. "I… I'm hurt. I don't think I can continue this date any longer. You've hurt me too much already."

She laughed at that, this sweet thing that jingled in her ears and caused the blonde's heart to tighten.

"You can't  _pun_ ish me like this!"

The laughter turned to a groan and the roll of amber eyes, but still there was a look of amusement. "That was terrible."

"I'm just going to take that as a compliment," Yang replied.

"It wasn't one."  
"Nah, it totally was a," she paused for effect, "com _pun_ ment!"

"Okay, the other one I can respect because it made sense, but this one was just forced," Blake commented with a shake of her head.

"Yeah, I'll admit that one was bad," she laughed.

"If I had little signs that they use in those dancing competitions I would give it a one," the faunus laughed.

"Alright then," Yang began, "You tell me a good joke!"

Blake froze up. "Uh, tell you a joke?"

"Yep!"

"Uh," she paused, "well, uh, there was, uh…"

"C'mon, you can do it!"

"Well, uh… oh, here's one! How do you instantly drop 100 IQ points?"

Yang cocked her head, "How?"

"Dye your hair blon—" her eyes widened, "Wait no, I mean—"

There was a moment of silence, the two locking eyes. That is, until the mane of golden hair spilled over the table when Yang's forehead made contact with the polished wood surface, laughter shaking the furnishing and threatening the drinks to spill. The alabaster skin of the beauty had flushed a great shade of ruby. The guffaws echoed throughout the establishment, and the two brunettes who had been quietly chatting gawked at the scene, the beautiful woman's body shaking in these spasms and the handsome one trying to sink into her seat to be as small as possible.

"Just," more laughs, "That was  _terrible_!"

"Stop!"

"M-Making a blonde joke," she sucked in a breath, "to a blonde!"

"Stop it, I'm aware! I never said  _I_ was good at jokes!"

"Oh man," Yang's outbursts began to subside, and she collected herself, leaning back in the chair and wiping her watering eyes. "You've clearly not been on many dates have you?"

"I-I, what?! I've been on plenty, thank you," Blake defended herself, albeit meekly.

"You should know it's part of date etiquette to not insult your date, right?"

"Well of course."

"Yeah, that's date number two!"

That elicited a chuckle from the red faced woman. "I knew that one."

Yang didn't respond, choosing not to get too deep into the conversation as she noticed the waiter exiting the kitchen with their meals in hand. He arrived at the destination, placing the two plates of food in front of them before taking off. What he was hurrying to Yang had no idea, what with the restaurant practically devoid of life. Yang grinned, having gotten a heaping dish of pasta, sauce poured on and not one, but three meatballs nestled inside. Blake had gotten a simple ravioli in the restaurant's homemade alfredo sauce.

The two fell into a silence, Yang nearly inhaling half her plate in this hungry frenzy. She attempted to be as lady like as possible, but having barely eaten that day this meal was almost orgasmic. The sauce, the noodles, the parmesan, all of it was fantastic. Blake seemed to be enjoying her food as well, equally as silent and chewing on one of the pieces of cheese filled pasta. She ate neatly, avoiding dotting her all black suit with the off white of the alfredo. Yang found herself just watching the raven haired woman, noting just how perfect and precise everything she did seemed. So different from when she was hiding herself in embarrassment, like a wall had come up. A wall that Yang wanted to break down like a wrecking ball.

"I love the food here," she commented, "Easily one of my favorite restaurants in Vale."

"It's not half bad. I have to say I'm enjoying it so far," Blake replied.

Yang smiled. "That's good, I'm glad it wasn't a total failure!"

"Yeah." Blake took a few more bites of her food and so did Yang. "Can I ask you something?"

"Ask away!"

"Do you live with your sister?" she queried.

Yang shook her head. "Nah, she lives with my uncle. It's easier for her, what with school and everything, but I spend enough time at his house that it's like I live there." The blonde chuckled.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I love spending time with that goofball, cutest little dork out there. You should see her hair though, dyed the tips red recently and it looks hella good," she gushed, "Oh! I'll just show you a picture, she's my background right now actually." Yang whipped out her cellphone, just clicking the button and having a familiar goofy photo of her younger sister to pop up.

Blake's eyes traced over the image, taking it all in. "It does look nice."

"I know, right?" Yang replied.

"Does she have naturally black hair?" the faunus asked.

"Yep!"

"And you're naturally blonde?"

"Yeah," she hummed, noting with a smirk the question that hung in the air, "We have different moms, if that's what you're wondering."

"Oh, that explains a lot," Blake muttered.

Yang laughed. "While she's  _technically_ my half-sister to me she's just my sister."

"That's sweet."  
"Thanks, I try." Another boisterous giggle.

There was a beat of silence before Yang spoke again. "So, where'd you grow up?"

Blake's hand paused, ravioli wiggling as the fork hung in the air halfway to her mouth. "All over really."

"But you said you were close with kids around the neighborhood?"

"Not around the neighborhood. They lived with me."

"Ah I see. Are you still close with them?" It may have just been Yang's imagination, but the ribbon of the black bow atop Blake's head appeared to twitch ever so slightly. She shrugged it off, however, leaning on a hand while taking another bite of sauce drenched noodles.

"Not particularly," the assassin replied.

There was a loud squeak, wood scraping against earthy tiles accompanied by panicked words. One of the two brunettes who shared the dining area with Blake and Yang was on her feet, chair pushed out behind her and muttering words furiously in a hushed tone. Long, chocolate hair hung haphazardly, messy from the sudden leap out of the seat. Two long ears, a lighter shade of chestnut than the strands below, marked the blushing girl as a bunny faunus. A pair of nearly black irises flickered over towards the bumble bee girls, the tint of crimson turning to an even darker hue. She spun on her heel, pushing her chair in and strutting off out of view.

Yang turned back towards her food, almost sighing aloud when she realized turning away hadn't been the best idea. There was no possible way to be entirely sure that Blake  _hadn't_ poisoned her food, but there was also no way to be sure that she had aside from eating it and dying. The pasta was only three fourths of a way done, but the serving was fairly large and would have been enough to eat for lunch the next day. Risking death just for something delicious to fill her belly was incredibly irresponsible, tempting, but still irresponsible. Lilac eyes scanned the meal as quickly as possible. No visible differences stood out, like in the vibrant drink still swirling around her cup albeit subdued from the melting ice diluting it.

The diamond smile on Yang's face didn't falter, and she immediately commented, "I wonder what that was all about? The one with the curls must be a damn good flirt to get her date to storm off as red as Clifford, and I don't know if I'm comfortable with her being better than I am."

Blake laughed.

"I think I'll have to fight her, reclaim my title and everything."

"You may have an unfair advantage," the raven haired woman noted.

"Maybe just a little bit," Yang grinned.

Lifting another white dripping pasta to her lips, Blake took a small bite, licking her lips but missing a small bit of alfredo in the corner. The fighter took this as her chance, gripping the cloth napkin that was nestled between the table and her plate, leaning slightly over the surface and reaching an arm towards the beauty across it.

"You have a little sauce right here," she whispered, gently wiping it away with a signature smirk on her face.

Blake just sat there with a thin brow raised, and it may have just been the lighting but it seemed as if there was a faint tinge of red creeping across her normally alabaster face. Something about the world around the two woman changed at that moment, suddenly it was just them in the room, eyes locked and a blanket of intimacy wrapped around them. Despite wanting to savor the atmosphere, Yang stuck to her original plan, and while going to return her arm back to her side she let it swing too wide, clipping the rim of the glass. With a crash and splash, neon liquid poured onto the plate of pasta and over the edge. Droplets dribbled onto the yellow sundress. The entirety of the table was gone, and the spell was broken, but the poisoned food was ruined and wouldn't even be considered edible anymore.

"Shit!" Yang let out, mocking anger.

"Oh no," Blake said, flagging down a waiter who had heard the crash, "Could we have something to clean this up, please?"

"Yes, yes of course," conceded the man as he rushed into the back room to work with her request, returning with a handful of cloth napkins. He helped to wipe up the mess, and Yang tried to help but he put up a hand. "You should go clean up your dress before the stain sets in. I've got this don't worry."

The blonde rose to go into the bathroom, Blake following suit. They walked side by side into the snug, three stalled bathroom. Yang started running the water, but stopped it after a moment and looked at the stoic hitman beside her. "I'm assuming you didn't follow me in here to clean your own jacket or to help me."

"No, no I didn't."

"Damn, I even spilled my drink to avoid that stuff you put in it, but look at me," a hand gestured towards the area around her, "I still managed to get cornered."

"So you did notice," Blake commented cooly, expression stoic.

Yang laughed at that. "Are you kidding me? You were more obvious than those two brunettes eye fucking each other!"

The hitman snorted, the tension broken for only a moment. A knife appeared from thin air, having been hidden somewhere within the confines of the black suit. Taking a step towards Yang, a light click of dress shoes on the linoleum floor and a dragging sound as she dove down and slid, aiming for the stomach of the seemingly unprepared blonde. Primed for this attack, the mixed martial artist kicked her leg up, hitting the back of the hand holding the blade and twisting out of the way. Momentum still carrying Blake forwards, Yang took the chance to bring a closed fist down towards the beautifully apathetic face. It never made contact, dodged with a simple jerk of the head.

Pivoting on her heel, Blake swung the knife upwards, Yang edging backwards to avoid each slice. With a deep breath, she felt herself getting into her fighter's trance, this hypersensitive state she found herself sinking into during every match. Each subtle movement, each flicker of the eyes, each strike aimed towards her she reacted to. MMA wasn't just brute strength like many people believed, there was more strategy to it, more paying attention to the fine details. The dagger blurred in flurried strikes, Yang dodging with centimeters to spare. In return she shot back punches and kicks, aiming for all parts of the woman's body. Still she found herself being driven towards the crimson of the closed stalls.

Blonde backed up against the plastic walls, a sly grin appeared on Blake's face. Lunging in with the knife, Yang caught her wrist, holding it mere inches away from her flushed cheeks. Her hands shook as they held the wrists of the assassin tightly, locked in this stalemate of strengths. The fighter's more power based training won out, her muscles urging the weapon backwards as well as the hitman.

"Nice… try Blake, but," Yang grunted through clenched teeth, "I've got a... bit more muscle on me though."

The two women continued their deadly game of arm wrestling, adrenaline pumping, hearts racing, strength waning, silence in the entire bathroom except for the groans of exertion. Amber locked onto lilac, eyes unwavering, and Yang could almost hear some epic film track playing in her head. She shifted her body, feet settling into a more comfortable position, preparing to do a mighty heave and remove the shadow like hitman off of her. Muscles ready to spring into action, Yang lurched forwards—

A roar, the rushing of water, and a squeak froze Yang and Blake where they stood. All attempts to murder and self defence were halted as the toilet from one of the stalls sputtered and gasped in the loudest fashion possible. Yang only blinked, grip loosening oh so slightly on Blake's wrists, pressure of the two arms weakening as well. There were two tiny plaps as feet hit the ground, the stall door slowly swinging inwards with this slight squeak. Bunny ears and brunette hair popped around it slowly, glancing at the two women, the knife, and the white knuckles wrapped around the sleeves of the suit. Immediately she brought her eyes down to the floor, slipping out of the small cubicle and dashing out of the bathroom.

"Excuse me, sorry!" came the short little burst, and if it weren't for the dead silence in the bathroom it would have been inaudible.

Yang dropped her arms, less concerned about the assassin standing right in front of her with a knife and more so with staring after the poor little brunette. "We… we should  _probably_ get out of here before the cops are called."

"That," Blake replied, sliding the knife into her sleeve, "Is a good idea."

The fighter sighed and stepped out of the bathroom, the raven haired woman trailing behind her. They sped walk by the table, the mess of drink having been cleaned up and a refill left in its place. Yang was almost tempted to drink it, chug it as fast as possible, but she knew there was no time as the brunette was whispering something to her date who was casting curious glances over towards them. Dropping a few twenties on the table, hopefully enough to pay for the meal, Yang raced to the front doors with Blake in tow, breaking out into a sprint once they got out the doors.

Even though it wasn't particularly necessary, the two ran fast and hard, Yang whooping and laughing as the wind buffeted her face all while clenching Blake's hand tightly. It was strange holding the hand that had grasped a weapon to end her life. It wasn't until the two were out of breath and slouched into sweaty heaps on a park bench did Yang begin to laugh again, a choked sputter that came out with each heave of her chest.

"Did, did you… did you see that girl's face?" She couldn't breath, it was too much, "Oh my god, I don't think I've… ever seen someone  _that_ shocked, holy shit, her eyes nearly popped out of her head!" Yang was doubled over in amusement, wincing in what seemed like pain, having most likely popped a few veins. Blake was laughing as well, albeit more silently.

When the giggles stopped the two fell into a silence, it settling upon them like the darkness of the night. The blonde sighed, neither moving, neither wanting to break through the sounds of the city.

"Are you going to try and kill me again?" Yang asked, a hint of humor in her voice.

Blake shook her head. "I think three's enough for one night."

"That's good, I'm a bit tired at the moment," she said. There was a pause, and the hitman took the moment to rise from her seat, silently saying that she was ready to go. "Blake."

She raised a brow in response.

"Did you at least enjoy the date?"

Amber eyes shining as they tuned in on the questioning face, pink lips lightly whispering. "I had fun."

And with that she was gone, leaving the date on the park bench alone, staring at the spot she once was. Rising slowly, Yang felt the chill in the air, and sighed. She had parked her bike right in front of the restaurant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all just a quick message from the other collaborator on this story A-rav, the author who hasn't updated any story in ages. I'm sorry I haven't updated in a long time but senior year has hit me hard and I've been swamped with my AP classes and internship. I also took part in the novel writing thing Katze mentioned and I've recently started training to compete in a Strongman competition. I'll try my best to update one of my stories soon but I won't lie it may not be for a while. Hope you guys have been well and I'll see you next time I update, hopefully that is soon.


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